Quickies: What Anti-Vaxxers Sound Like, Racism in Schoolteachers, and Celebrating Single Women’s Lives

This Is What Anti-Vaxxers Sound Like To Normal People – “We all know how ridiculous some of the more staunch anti-vaxxers sound, but this video by Girl Pants Productions highlights just how silly the whole thing really is. ‘I mean, I’m not a doctor, but I’ve done all the online research. I’m basically web certified….’ ” From Zara.

Science Fiction’s White Boys’ Club Strikes Back – “Currently, the science fiction world is being torn asunder by a cultural war over diversity, with a hot battle going on over the Hugo Awards, the long-running and prestigious fan-selected awards given out every year at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon). Reflecting the demographics of the larger field, the Hugo Awards have traditionally gone to white men, but nominations for women and non-whites have risen in recent years. That trend has upset right-wing fans who say they’ve been marginalized by affirmative action gone mad—and who organized a successful nomination campaign to undo these gains in diversity, creating an unprecedented party-line slate which has led to the stacking of this year’s Hugo ballot largely with white men once again.”

Model for Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter painting dies at 92 – “Although Keefe was petite, Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter had large arms, hands and shoulders. The painting shows the red-haired Rosie in blue jean work overalls sitting down, with a sandwich in her left hand, her right arm atop a lunchbox with the name ‘Rosie’ on it, a rivet gun on her lap and her feet resting on a copy of Adolf Hitler’s manifesto ‘Mein Kampf.’ The entire background is a waving American flag.” From Amy.

Jon Stewart: why I quit The Daily Show – “Instead, he describes his decision to quit The Daily Show, the American satirical news programme he has hosted for 16 years, as something closer to the end of a long-term relationship. ‘It’s not like I thought the show wasn’t working any more, or that I didn’t know how to do it. It was more, “Yup, it’s working. But I’m not getting the same satisfaction.” ‘ He slaps his hands on his desk, conclusively.”

The Whole Pantry author Belle Gibson admits she lied about having terminal cancer – “Ms Gibson launched her global business, which included the top-rating app and cookbook, off her controversial claims that she was a young mother healing herself naturally from terminal brain cancer. She came under fire after Fairfax Media revealed in March that she had raised money in the name of five charities that had no record of receiving a donation from her. Her story of survival was soon put under the spotlight and she admitted that multiple other cancers she claimed to have suffered from may have been based on a misdiagnosis.”

Just How Racist Are Schoolteachers? – “It’s no secret that black kids are more likely to be suspended from school than white kids—three times more likely, according to a 2012 report from the Office of Civil Rights. And now a study published this week in Psychological Science may shed some light on just how much of a role racial bias on the part of educators may play.” From Jamie.

Why astronomers hate the lawn-mowing Roomba – “You see, the new autonomous lawn-mowing technology — from iRobot, maker of the world famous vacuum robot Roomba — needs to communicate. To do so, iRobot is asking the FCC to grant their customers permission to use small, localized portions of the radio spectrum.”

‘Spinster’ Celebrates The Single Ladies – “It’s what every young girl is expected to do: Grow up, get married and have kids. Or is it? Writer Kate Bolick questions that social edict in her new memoir, Spinster: Making a Life of One’s Own.”

GamerGate Booth Kicked Out Of Canadian Comic Expo – “The Honey Badger Brigade, a group of men and women sympathetic to men’s rights activism and calling itself a collective in favor of artistic expression, had its booth removed from the ongoing Calgary Expo today for reportedly disrupting panels and associating with GamerGate.”

Mary

Mary Brock is a scientist who works on drugs you've hopefully never heard of. She enjoys cooking to Blue Grass music, messing with her cats, and hosting the Boston Skeptics' Book Club. She was born in the South but loves living in New England (despite the lack of chocolate chip pizza). Mary does not use Twitter and don't even try to follow her, because she is always looking over her shoulder.

2 Comments

The Mary Sue article featured quotes from a local reporter (not in Calgary). She was subsequently attacked on Twitter and had many of us reporting and blocking Honey Badger sympathizers. I still don’t get how anyone who wants to talk about ethical gaming journalism would actually want to be associated with the GamerGate hashtag. I watched portions of the video and it was pretty clear that their intensions are misogynistic and they were out to attack women specifically. I wonder if these young women involved have the same problems that young women from western counties have when joining ISIL in Syria/Iraq…

Oh, speaking of The Mary Sue, apparently Gay!Iceman (something the fans always suspected, and was even referenced on Family Guy) is now an example of bi erasure.

I should mention that, from what I understand, for a kid growing up in the early 60s, bisexuality was unknown, it was possible to have some sexual activity with other guys and still be heterosexual (though they’d never admit it), and ‘the homosexual’ was basically a cartoon character. All that said, seriously, stop it, Jean.

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The Skepchick Network is a collection of smart and often sarcastic blogs focused on science and critical thinking. The original site is Skepchick.org, founded by Rebecca Watson in 2005 to discuss women’s issues from a skeptical standpoint.